Piper Finalizes Deal with Brunei

Despite some media reports stating that Piper Aircraft was recently sold to the Government of Brunei, the Vero Beach, Fla. airframer told AIN that the transaction of authority for the company from Imprimis, a corporate finance and investment management firm, to Brunei’s Ministry of Finance was merely a formalization of the original 2009 sale of the company by American Capital.

In a release the company stated, “Piper Aircraft has been an investment of the Government of Brunei since 2009. Imprimis handled the acquisition for the government and had a role in the activities of the company.”

According to a Piper spokeswoman, Imprimis managed the company until Brunei was comfortable enough to take the reins itself. “Now and going forward Piper senior leadership in Vero Beach has a direct relationship to the ownership, which enhances communications, decision-making and financial accountability.”

The manufacturer is currently negotiating with Florida officials over the repayment of more than $10 million in grants and incentives it received when it promised to keep its headquarters in Vero Beach and build a manufacturing plant for the recently canceled single-engine PiperJet Altaire.